HB 3023 Text

H. B. 3023

(By Delegates Houston, Renner,
Beach and Susman)

[Introduced February 14, 2003; referred to the

Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]

A BILL to amend article twenty, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve-a, relating to lost animals generally; providing for the establishment by the commissioner of agriculture of a toll free hot line for reporting lost animals; providing for notification of certain entities; and providing for erection of certain highway signs.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That article twenty, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve-a, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 20. DOGS AND CATS.

§19-20-12a. Lost animal hot line.

From funds appropriated therefore by the Legislature, the commissioner of agriculture shall establish a toll free telephone number whereby people may report domestic animals and livestock that have been lost and whereby people may report finding lost livestock and domestic animals. The commissioner shall establish a register of such lost animal reports and shall implement a system to cross check reports of lost domestic animals and livestock with reports of found domestic animals and livestock.

The commissioner shall ensure that information on the register is available to people requesting information about lost domestic animals or livestock. In addition, the commissioner may post the register on the world wide web.

Upon receipt of a report, the commissioner shall notify the humane society in the county in which the lost domestic animal or livestock was reported lost or found or in the case of dogs, to the county dog warden.

The commissioner may enter into agreements with the department of transportation for the erection of signs along the interstates and roadways of the state encouraging motorists to report lost animals to the hotline.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a lost animal hotline in the office of the commissioner of agriculture. It provides for a statewide register of lost and found animals and it allows people to access the information on the register.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.

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